Grate shaking mechanism



Feb. 15, 1944. J. J. KACENA ETAI.

GRATE SHAKING MECHANISM Filed April 16, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Feb. l5, 1944. `J. l. KACEN'A ET'AL 2,341,790 GRATE sHAxING MEcHANIsM Fi1ed Apri1 1s, j1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 will. lill! 23 In!" fill Patented Feb. 15, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GRATE SHAKING MECHANISM John J. Kaceiia, chicago, and Ewaran. Kelly, Oak Park, Ill., assignors to Crane Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application April 16, 1941, Serial No. 388.75%

Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved grate shaking mechanism for heating boilers and the like and has for one of its principal objects the provision oi a device in which the grates of a conventional boiler are maintained locked in proper operating positionl but in which allowance is made for th'e easy unlocking of the grates through the simple movement of the same handle that is used to tilt and to operate the grate bars.

An important object of our invention is to provide a grate mechanism which under operating conditions is instrumental in locking the grates in normal, flat position and which when shaking or dumping is required, renders it possible to unlock the grates with relatively slight effort applied to the regular shaker lever. The fuel bed may be shaken without fear of being dumped during the prescribed movement of the lever, or if dumping becomes necessary, the latter operation is easily accomplished as hereinafter de` scribed in detail.

Another important object `lies in the provision of a combined grate locking and shaking mechanism controllable by a single lever without either bending or vstooping and which requires the use of only one hand for effecting a plurality of operations of the gratos;

A further important object of this invention is to provide a combined grate operating and locking mechanism for boilers or furnaces which is relatively simple and cheap to manufacture and contains fewer parts than the present grate operating mechanism.

Other and further important objects and advantages will become apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a boiler incorporating the grate operating mechanism of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. v

Fig. 3 is a partial front view of the boiler as shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line ll--d of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional View showing the grates in a shake tilt position.

Fig. 6 is a corresponding front view of the'device as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a detailed sectional view showing the grates in a dumping tilt position.

Fig. 8 is a corresponding front view of the device shown in the same operating position asin' lll m'eral l indicates generally the casing of the ordinary heating boiler, equipped or surrounded with the usual water jackets 2 and having a series of transverse, tiltably mounted grate bars 3. Rocker arms Il are iixedly attached to the underside of the' ends of each of the grate bars 3 and are in turn received by the grate connecting bar 5 having' the oval-shaped sockets 1 for the purpose,

The grate connecting bar 6 which is reciprocably movable, operates through opposed openings 8 in the boiler casing l. The forward end oi the grate connecting bar 6 has pivotally attabbed thereto at l through the Slot I5, a Control or shaking lever 9 which is Xedly pivoted near the base of the boiler, as at Il.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the grates 3 are maintained in a position in which the coal or other fuel will remain Within' the irepot proper. The gratos 3 are locked in this norma-1 flat position by the locking catch 42 as best shown in Figs.- 3 and fi. This locking catch l2 is attached to the boiler casing l, 'at E3, around which point it is' rotatable. Stops lll and I6 in the form of lugs' are 'positioned closely adjacent the upper end Il of the locking catch l2 and on the surface of the boiler casing which, as shown in Fig. 3, has the regular doors i8 and IS for cle'anout purposes and removalY of ashes, respectively. The locking catch l2 normally rests in a vertical position, but, if changed by some outside force, when left alone will tend to return to the original vertical posi-tion. Below the'A rotating point I3 the locking' catch l2 is equipped with a pin 2| upon which is mounted the control lever 9 at ll. A sidewise movement of the upper end of the shaker or control lever 9 will cause it to pivot about the point Il), and its lower extremity will slide over the pin 2l and force rotation of the entire locking catch l2 around its centrally located attachment point I3, In its normal vertical position the upper end ll of the locking catch l2 is directly in line with the end face of the cutaway portion at 24 oi the grate connecting bar 6, thereby preventing its withdrawal.

` Heretoio-re boilers using a similar type of grate have had means for locking the grate in a ilat position, but these means oi locking have been relatively complicated and usually so diicult to operate that they were not eiiectively used. In most instances they have been removed by the individual operators because it was necessary for them to waste too much time and elort in getting down onbended knees in attempting to reino'v'e pin or such other means of locking so rection and in doing so the locking catch I2 has had its upper catch member Il similarly moved pivotably to the right to the limiting position as defined by the stop l5. The grate connecting bar 6 on its right side is equipped with a slot 22 extending back from the cutaway portion 24 through which the catch member l1 of the locking element i2 is now permitted to travel upon the pulling out of the lever 9, which tilts the rocker arms 4 and in turn the cross grate bars 3. This grate connecting bar 6 can now be reciprocably moved an amount equal to the length of the slot 22 which can be made a predetermined length to tilt the grate bars at an angle that will most effectively shake down the ashes of the fuel without allowing any unburned fuel to fall through the now larger openings, as shown at 23, between the cross grate bars 3, It will be apparent that the length of the slot 22 varies directly with the size of the angle through which the grate bars tilt. In order to return the grate bars to their operating flat position, the lever arm 9 is pushed in against the boiler and the loclnng catch l2 rights itself to its previous vertical position placing the catch member I1 directly inV front of the grate connecting bar 6 in its cutaway portion at 24.

The dumping operation, which means the emptying of the entire repot through the cross grate bars when they are tilted at a much greater angle than the tilt required for shaking purposes, is shown in Figs. 7 and 8. The lever arm 9, as best shown in Fig. 8, is moved or rotated to the left, or counterclockwise, and accordingly the locking catch l2 and its upper catch member Il is similarly moved or rotated to the left, or counterclockwise, to its limiting position as defined by the stop I4. The grate connecting bar is now free to proceed forwardly without any interference from the locking catch l2-l'l and can continue until the raised portion or lug 25 on the grate connecting bar 6 comes in contact with the boiler casing l immediately above the opening 8 as best shown in Fig. 7. In this position the grate bars are tilted to the point where the opening 21 between them allows everything upon the grate bars to fall through to the ash pit of the boiler.

As just described, upon specific right or left movements of the control lever 9 it is possible to retract the grate connecting bar 6 to definite predetermined positions. It must be understood, of course, that it is not the only way the device can be operated. For example, the rotating movements of the control or shaking lever 9 might be arranged to perform the shaking operation by s. left movement instead of the described right movement, or the dumping operation might be performed by a right movement instead of the described left movement. In such case the slot 22 would be on the left side of the grate connecting bar 6.

We are aware that numerous details of construction may be varied throughout a wide range without departing from the principles shown herein and we therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

We claim:

1. In a furnace or the like, a plurality of grate bars, a grate connecting bar having a recess in one side, a shaker lever for reciprocably moving the saidc grate connecting bar, a locking catch adapted for rotatable mounting upon the furnace on which the said shakerlever is slidably pivoted, the said locking catch being movable with said shaker lever and in its normal vertical position interlockably holding the grate connecting bar in inoperative position by engagement of a portion of the recess in the said connecting bar, pin and journaling means for effecting counter-clockwise movement of the locking catch by a similar counter-clockwise movement of the shaker lever whereby the locking catch disengages the grate connecting bar thereby allowing the latter member to be reciprocably movable for a dumping position of the grate bars, the pivotal movement of"` the shaker lever in the opposite direction a1- lowing for thev interlocking engagement of the catch with the recess of the grate connecting bar `whereby said latter member may be reciprocably moved for providing the shaking position of the said grate bars.

2. In boiler grate construction, a grate connecting bar having a slot on one side near its forward end, a shaker lever for reciprocating the grate connecting bar, a locking catch adapted for rotatable mounting upon a boiler or the like, means for slidable and pivotal attachment of the lower end of the shaker lever to the lower end of the locking catch, stops positioned closely adjacent the locking catch for limiting its rotation, means for rotating the locking catch by a similar rotation of the said shaker lever, said locking catch normally engaging the slotted end of the grate connecting bar for preventing movement thereof whereby upon rotation of the shaker lever the locking catch is likewise rotated to allow a limited movement of the vgrate connecting bar, the latter movement being determined by the operation of the locking catch through the slot in the said grate connecting bar'.

'3. In boiler grate construction, a grate connecting bar having a cutaway portion, a slot on one side terminating at the said cutaway portion, and a lug on the bar back of the slot, a shaker lever for effecting reciprocable movement of the grate connecting bar, a locking catch suitable for rotatable mounting upon a boiler, a pin on the locking catch for slidably and pivotably attaching the lower end of the shaker lever to the lower end of the locking catch, stop Vmeans closely adjacent the locking catch for limiting its rotation, means for effecting the rotation -of the locking catch by a similar rotation of the shaker lever, said locking catch normally engaging the forward end of the cutaway portion in the grate connecting bar for preventing movement thereof and whereby upon a rotationv to the right of the r shaker lever the locking catch is shifted to allow a movement of the grate connecting bar limited to the operation of the locking catch through the slot in the grate connecting bar, and whereby upon movement in the opposite direction of the shaker lever the locking catch is similarly shifted to disengage the grate connecting bar thereby allowing for movement-of the grate connecting bar until the lug Yon the connecting bar acts against the inner surface of the boiler.

4.- In a furnace or the like, a plurality of grate bars pivotally mounted at their ends, a rocker arm fixedly attached to each grate bar, a grate connecting bar slidably mounted in the furnace adapted to receive each rocker arm, said grate connecting bar having a slotted recess in one side thereof, a shaker lever having attachment with the grate connecting bar, catch means on the furnace for effecting pivotal attachment of the shaker lever, said catch means being movable with the said shaker lever and adapted to normally assume a vertical position to interlockingly engage the slotted portion of the recess in the said grate connecting bar thereby enabling the grate bars to be locked in flat position, said catch means being adapted to tilt sideways in one direction into operative engagement with said connecting bar recess for permitting shaking of the said grate bars and said catch means being adapted to tilt in the opposite direction to be disengaged from the said grate connecting bar for permitting dumping of the said grate bars.

5. In a furnace or the like, a plurality of grate bars adapted to be tiltably mounted therein, a rocker arm anxed to each grate bar, a grate connecting bar having a recessed portion in one side thereof adapted to be slidably mounted in the furnace and pivotally connecting each rocker arm, a shaker lever attached to the grate connecting bar, catch means adapted to be pivotally mounted on the furnace for eiTecting the pivotal mounting of the said shaker lever and movable therewith, said catch means being engageable with a slot in the recessed portion of the grate connecting bar and thereby normally tending to lock the grate bars in a flat, fuel supporting position, the said catch means upon pivotal movement oftsaid shaker lever in the same direction being engageable with the recessed portion of the connecting bar to limit movement of said grate connecting bar, the said grate bars upon such latter movement being tiltable through a predetermined small angle suitable for shaking, the said grate connecting bar being reciprocably movable an amount equal to the length of its recessed portion thus to determine the maximum desired angle to which the grate bars may be tilted, the said catch means upon opposite pivotal movement of the said shaker lever being similarly movable pivotally away from the grate connecting bar to thereby permit tilting the said grate bars through a greater angle suitable-for dumping whereby upon one or the other of such predetermined movements of the shaker lever the grate bars may be manually operated respectively in the shaking or dumping position as desired.

JOHN J. KACENA. EDWARD E. KELLY. 

